Settling in
by Kiki-SG13
Summary: Part of the SG13 series, following on from where 'Diplomacy' left off. Settling in is never easy.


Settling In

He stared around the room in distaste. It was so dark and dull. Didn't they have any colour around here? 'Jack' turned back round and gave his new husband a dubious look. Did everyone live like this on this planet? Sky wrinkled his nose slightly, but shrugged, saying something in that strange language that he understood so little of, except for his new name.

Jack. That Elder, the not-bald one, answered to the same name. He wondered if that had any significance, then decided it wasn't important. He had to answer to something and if they couldn't pronounce his real name, then 'Jack' would do as well as anything else. He started in surprise and dismay as Sky turned to leave. Where was he going?

Sky said something, gesturing with his hands but Jack didn't like the direction the conversation seemed to be going. Didn't these people understand the concept of being married? It meant that the couple shared the same home at the very least. Unless something went disastrously wrong anyway, and he couldn't afford to make any such mistakes. He wasn't naïve enough to believe that his people would stand a chance against these aliens with their weapons and their apparent willingness to use them if threatened. No, he would make this arrangement work, no matter what.

Eventually though, Sky threw up his hands in what seemed to be frustration at his protests and made a beckoning gesture before walking out the door. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, Jack followed. He wasn't known as the most stubborn person in his village for no reason. Well, except for his father anyway. He followed his pair-bonded through the halls of the strange building, two weapons-carrying men behind them, until they came to another room which Sky walked into. His pair-bonded stood in the doorway while Jack looked around the room and stared down the two other men until they spoke into some black box with a disembodied voice coming out of it. They then nodded and left, at which point Sky stepped back inside and closed the door.

This room wasn't much different to the other one, except maybe there were more things in it, items on the table and an unusual type of painting in a small frame - a child and an older man, a man wearing a similar style of clothes to the bald Elder. He glanced over at Sky and pointed at the boy in the… painting, he didn't know what else to call it, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Sky nodded with a faint smile and gently took the frame off him, setting it back on the table. The expression on his face said everything and Jack looked away. He remembered how he'd felt when his mother joined the Ancestors and he supposed that loss was the same, no matter which planet you were from.

He blinked in surprise as Sky picked up a bag and made for the door again, tugging lightly on his arm as he passed. Where were they going now?

* * *

He stared round the room and shifted uncomfortably. The purpose of the room was obvious but there was no way he was… Once leaving childhood you didn't bathe in front of anyone except your pair-bonded, not unless the rains hadn't come and water was scarce. Sky tugged at him gently, but he shook his head firmly. He'd wait. It wasn't like he needed to bathe right now anyway, not when he'd washed that morning, before any of this happened. Sky rolled his eyes and went to pull his shirt off, the implication clear, but Jack grabbed hold of his wrist, preventing him from doing so. He wouldn't bathe in front of anyone but his pair-bonded and Sky wouldn't either, not if he had any say in the matter. He relaxed a moment later when Sky seemed to get the idea and sat down on one of the long wooden seats, his eyebrows drawn together in irritation.

* * *

Sky had been surprised by the sudden hold on his wrist but the stubborn set to Jack's jaw made him sigh inwardly. So, Jack might pacifistic by nature but that didn't mean he wasn't stubborn. It looked like he wasn't getting a shower any time soon and that was annoying. The paint on his chest was beginning to itch and he wanted it off. But no, his new alien husband had to have nudity issues. He made a mental note to have Z explain the concept of the locker room to Jack later.

* * *

When the last person was gone and the only two left were himself and Sky, his pair-bonded raised an eyebrow at him in sarcastic question and Jack pulled a face at him before discarding his wedding robes, the only clothes he had on this planet. He followed Sky into the steam-filled room and looked around in confusion. How were you supposed to wash in here?

Sky tapped his shoulder to get his attention and placed his hand on one of the shiny poles, or, to be precise, on the circular thing on the pole. Cautiously he placed his own hand on the one in front of him and turned his head back to Sky to find out what happened next. Sky turned his hand to the right, twisting the circle thing and Jack slowly repeated the movement. He jumped back in surprise as water hit his head and he stared up at the alien machine from a safe distance.

"You're supposed to stand under the water."

He jumped again as Sky spoke, but he had no idea what his pair-bonded had said. Still, Sky was standing under the machine with no evidence of unease and instead seemed to be urging him under the machine himself. Stepping forward warily, Jack moved back under the water and stood there for a moment. When nothing happened he relaxed. Just water, nothing else. Sky held out what seemed to be soap and Jack took it gingerly, sniffing it a little. It didn't smell too bad, he supposed, not that there was much of a scent to it anyway. It just wasn't like anything he was used to.

He watched in resignation as his new husband vigorously washed off what was left of the wedding paints. The markings weren't supposed to be removed, they were left until they faded, a symbol of constancy, fidelity. He sighed, then ducked his own head under this strange bathing machine and reluctantly removed his own markings. He wasn't stupid, no matter how most of the people here were likely to think of him; he knew that many, if not most, of his people's customs would have to be integrated into those of this planet. That didn't mean he had to like it. The beads and shell pieces in his hair clinked against each other and he was determined that those at least would stay, either for the proscribed period of time or as long as he could get away with.

He turned at the sound of Sky's voice and found the man looking at him with a concerned expression, gesturing at his face where the symbols had been painted. _Were they important?_ he was asking. Well, it was too late now, it wasn't as if there was anything either of them could do about it now that the symbols were gone. He studied his pair-bonded for a moment, then looked away, tilting his head back under the water.

* * *

_Damn_, Sky thought. _They **were** important._ He hadn't thought of it until the symbols were gone, the paint no longer irritating his skin, hadn't thought of it until he noticed the visible reluctance with which Jack removed his own markings. They weren't exactly getting off to the best start. It was likely to be hard enough for Jack to get used to being on another planet without Sky running roughshod over his traditions and way of life. He made another mental note: get Z to give him a run down on everything she knew about the Hcetwen. He knew they were pacifists, did that mean Jack was likely to be vegetarian? _That_ would be a great start, giving Jack meat when it would only offend him. He was going to have to do some serious homework on this.

Turning off the shower, he noticed Jack doing the same out the corner of his eye and he handed over a towel, steadfastly _not_ looking at his… husband (god, that would some getting used to) until the towel was firmly round Jack's waist. He didn't know why it bothered him, it hadn't while they were showering which would arguably be worse, with water flowing over solid muscle and… he forced his mind away from that train of thought, _**So**__ not helping_.

He bit his lip in consternation as Jack re-donned the robes he'd worn for their 'wedding'. He hadn't thought of that. They'd need to get some other clothes for him, most likely one of each variation of their base uniforms from the storeroom, the blue and green ones with black shirts. It wasn't exactly as colourful as the Hcetwen people obviously preferred their clothing, but it would have to do. At least until he had permission to take Jack off-base and get him some civilian clothes anyway.

Walking through the corridors of the base he steadfastly ignored the sideways looks of the marines that passed them, knowing that this would be all over the base in under an hour, if it wasn't already. Harrington probably wouldn't keep his mouth shut in any case so yeah, at least half the base would know by now that he'd somehow managed to come back from his first solo mission with an alien husband in tow. He wasn't looking forward to the next few days. Even around the SGC, with people who travelled to other planets every other day, there were still narrow-minded people who wouldn't like this one bit. He frowned slightly to himself, he wasn't too concerned about himself. If there was trouble he could probably handle it, but Jack… he'd have to make sure that Jack could at least defend himself if he got into an ugly situation, in spite of the marines that were assigned to follow him when he wasn't with any of Sky's team. He sighed inwardly. Who'd have thought 'gate travel could be so complicated?

* * *

He smiled slightly as Jack held up a green shirt between thumb and forefinger, looking at it as if it had personally offended him before giving him a look than plainly begged him to say it was all a misunderstanding and that he didn't really have to wear something so dull. Sky just shrugged and plucked at his own shirt, the only difference being that his was blue. Jack frowned and held up the blue one, his expression suggesting that this one wasn't much better. _Well there wasn't much he could do about it_, Sky thought in mild annoyance. It was a uniform, it wasn't supposed to be colourful, it was supposed to be functional and Jack would just have to deal with it.

Still, he found he couldn't tear his eyes away from the other man. Jack had very eloquent expressions and he probably wouldn't have to resort to words if he didn't want to, his expressions would be more than enough. He forced himself to turn away when Jack half-heartedly began to change, giving him the privacy to do so. They might be married and they may have showered together in the locker room but that didn't mean he was comfortable with any of this. He had no idea how to be married, relationships in general weren't something he was good at, let alone relationships with alien men that he had no way to get out of. Although, as Jack touched his shoulder to regain his attention, now wearing the blue version of the uniform and an uncertain expression, Sky thought that maybe this wasn't so bad.


End file.
